THE X-FILES creator Chris Carter has sued 20th Century Fox Television for breach of contract, claiming to have been short-changed by later series of the popular paranormal programme.

The show, which starred FBI agents David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson, allegedly lost Carter money in its ninth series when the studio backed out of the profit guarantee he believed he had secured in an earlier deal.

Carter accuses 20th Century Fox of contractual interference and is seeking unspecified damages in a suit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court last month (DEC05).

In 1999, Duchovny sought legal entitlement to a higher share of profits from the show's lucrative syndication deals.